Pound for pound king and “Fighter of the Decade” Manny Pacquiao who has emerged as a crossover star in the US has outranked Floyd Mayweather Jr  in the 2012 Bloomberg/Newsweek Power 100 rankings of athletes.

Pacquiao and Mayweather were the only two boxers the list with Pacquiao at No. 28 while Mayweather ranked 21 places behind at 49.

Listed as Pacquiao’s most notable achievements  were his wins over Sugar Shane Mosley and the controversial victory in his third bout with Juan Manuel Marquez.

His earnings were listed at $50 million with key sponsors being Nike, Hewlett Packard and more recently Hennessy. Mayweather earned $40 million wuth key sponsors SMS Audio.

Explaining why he is on the list it said  “The most Web-searched athlete in 2011 according to Google, “Pacman the Destroyer holds world championships in eight different weight divisions.”

Bloomberg/Businessweek noted that “Controversy may have helped fuel the internet interest” claiming that after a close win against Marquez , Pacquiao was booed and mentioned “endless talk that Pacquiao might fight Floyd.”

Pacquiao it said is also a Philippine politician (Congressman from the lone district of Sarangani province) and a singer  “who has become more recognizable in recent years with new high-profile commercials such as those for the HP TouchPad.”

Over 3,000 athletes from several sports disciplines were evaluated with 50m percent based on so-called “off-field” measurements and 50 percent based on “on-field” performance.

The widely-read internet site boxingscene.com reported that “CSE’s proprietary analytics utilizes a range of industry statistics, including data from E-Poll and as the business of sports continues to grow, endorsement contracts increasingly impact players, teams, and the industry. These contracts take into consideration many of the same factors as the Power 100 ranking – performance, name awareness, appeal, influence, trustworthiness and overall popularity, among other things.”

It noted that “Social media, for example, played a role in boosting the rankings of certain athletes.”

We have been pointing out that the WBC International flyweight title fight between Filipino Roilo Golez and former world champion and No. 2 ranked Edgar Sosa who was defending his International title in Mexico was an obvious mismatch. But apparently the Games and Amusements Board and its officials didn’t think so.

They apparently approved the title fight between Golez who had a record of  13 wins, 7 defeats with 5 wins by way of knockout against the vastly more experienced Sosa whose record was 43 wins, 7 losses  and 26 knockouts which meant that Sosa had twice as many knockouts as Golez had wins.

GAB Commisioner Aquil Tamano sought to explain the approval of the fight by the Boxing Division headed by Dr. Nasser Cruz  by banking on a seriously questionable rule that as long as a boxer has won three of his last five fights he can be allowed to fight abroad.

It doesn’t matter whether the 3 fights he won were against patsies as in the case of Golez’ win over Dodoy Alapormina in his last fight on December 23, 2011. Golez won by a 5th round TKO but according to boxrec.com Alapormina had a miserable fight record of 1 win against 13 defeats.

Its not the number of wins or losses that should be the guiding principle. It should be who he fought and beat or lost to, and the quality of the opponents.

Its not merely a game of numbers because even if it is any average boxing fan would realize that Golez vs Sosa was a mismatch when you also consider that while Sosa is ranked No. 2 in the world, Golez is not even in the top 40!      

What the Manila Standard warned against was a seeming mismatch based on the records and credentials of both fighters  despite the brave predictions of Golez who eventually suffered a 7^thround TKO, that he would knock Sosa out. The kid is brave, no question but bravery alone doesn’t win fights against far superior opponents. .

All the pictures without exception posted on Fight News showed Sosa catching Golez time and again without a single photo of Golez connecting with a punch.

While we have no doubt that Golez is a gallant young fighter, allowing him to engage in such a patent mismatch could do irreparable damage to his career and his confidence and surely the GAB must share the blame.

The GAB also ignored the fact that Golez on October 1, 2011 lost by a 5^th round TKO to Mexico’s Sammy Gutierrez in a bloody  clash for the vacant WBC Silver title which Gutierrez dominated  after Golez was  deducted two points for a deliberate head-butt by referee Laurentino Oropeza in the opening round.

At the time of the stoppage which was 2:06 of round five, Golez was losing by a shutout (40-34) on the scorecards of all three judges. Yet, the GAB allowed the clash with Sosa to go ahead.

The common complaint of sports people and the public is that the government doesn’t really care about or invest in sports which was one of the reasons for our country’s disastrous 6^th place finish in the recent Southeast Asian Games. Clearly the charge of lack of concern is validated by the GAB, which is directly under the Office of the President approving  obvious mismatches.

Its not enough for GAB officials to fly out in a bunch to the US and enjoy the luxury of watching a Manny Pacquiao fight at one of the plush hotels in Las Vegas. What they need to do is to look after the lesser lights in Philippine boxing because Manny can take care of himself unlike fighters like Golez who the GAB so often feeds as fodder to superior fighters in Mexico and Japan.

Obviously, the GAB officials don’t know their boxing and if they do, they apparently don’t give a damn.

In a New Year’s day stunner Sunderland lit up their “Stadium of Light” with a dramatic 1-0 win over league leaders Manchester City adding to the weekend horror that saw Manchester United beaten 3-2 by lowly Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea overcome by Aston Villa 3-1.

It was only Arsenal who stood firm with a 1-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers that lifted Arsene Wenger’s side into fourth spot and a coveted place in the Champions League if they can hang on.

The Sun newspaper MatchCenter kept a running account of the gripping saga between Sunderland and Man City and this was the summary.

“You couldn’t make it up could you? It was all City in the closing stages – they were pushing and pressing and doing everything to find a winner, but Sunderland raced up the other end to produce the most dramatic of goals from the substitute Ji Dong Won.”

The report went on “ Roberto Mancini was absolutely furious with the score at 0-0, but his mood will be considerably worse now, particularly as Manchester United dropped points yesterday. As for Sunderland, it looks like 2012 will be very different to 2011, with Martin O’Neill’s revolution in full flow already. Full time at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland 1 Manchester City 0.

And that’s full time! City are beaten. Amazing. “

It was an absolutely astonishing finish to a match that league leaders Manchester City should have won based on possession alone. But the English Premier League has often shown that possession alone doesn’t win matches if you cannot convert the dominance into goals which is exactly what Manchester City failed to do.

Although Arsenal won 1-0 over Queens Park Rangers, Van Persie alone probably missed five chances of scoring while Theo Walcott missed two sitters. But that’s what makes the EPL such a fascinating league.

The dramatic ending told the story with Sunderland winning in the dying seconds. This is how the Sun Match Center described it.

“ They break from a City attack and are five on three – the ball is worked to JI DONG WON who coolly rounds (Joe)  Hart and taps into the empty net. The home fans go absolutely berserk, as does Martin O’Neill. What a finish! “

Arsenal led by their talisman Robin Van Persie who scored the only goal of the match to surpass football great Thierry Henry’s one year mark saw the Frenchman who is set to return to the Emirates on a two-month loan stood up and applauded  Van Persie’s remarkable feat.

With the win Arsenal moved up to fourth in the Premier League table.

BBC Sport reported that “Sir Alex suffered the ignominy of watching his Manchester United side lose to basement club Black on his 70^th birthday.”

Yakubu gave Rovers the lead from the penalty spot after Dimitar Berbatov had pulled down defender Chris Samba.

The Nigerian Yakubu made it 2-0 when he capitalized on some poor defending to hammer home his second goal before Berbatov more than made amends for conceding  a penalty when he headed one in and then shot a second to level the score at 2-1.

But Blackburn who fought ferociously were not to be denied and Grant Hanley spoiled Ferguson’s party when he headed in the winning goal.

While ManU’s loss deprived them of kicking off the New Year on top of the table, BBC Sport said Chelsea’s 3-1 loss to Aston Villa left their title challenge in tatters.

Villa put on what was described as a clinical display and thoroughly deserved their victory at Stamford Bridge where the hometown fans booed Chelsea off the pitch.

Aston Villa sealed the win with two goals in the final ten minutes and stretched Chelsea’s winless run to four games.

Didier Drogba hammered home a penalty after he was brought down clumsily in the box but Stephen Ireland was the architect in drawing Villa level from close range and then set up a simple third goal for Darren Bent after Stilyan Petrov had given them a 2-1 lead.

BBC Sport’s David Ornstein reported that Robin Van Persie registered his 35^th Premier League goal to help Arsenal move into fourth spot for the first time and a likely spot in the Champion’s League.

The Dutchman missed no less than four chances in the first half that would have seen him overtake Alan Shearer’s record  of 36 goals in a calendar year but it was not to be.

But the win was more important to Arsene Wenger who described his prized striker as “exceptional” in a 1-0 win that pushed the Emirates club above Liverpool and Chelsea into the final Champions League spot for the first time this season.

Aaron Ramsey saw his shot cleared off the line by Joey Barton while Theo Walcott missed a sitter when he had only the goalkeeper to beat.

A clinical pass from Andrey Arshavin after the break saw Van Persie drive one in with a low, typical  Van Persie finish .

Tottenham Hotspur blew a fine chance to narrow the gap with Manchester City and Manchester United when Scott Sinclair scored on a late equalizer after Rafael van der Vaart’s opening goal looked like it would catapult Spurs to within four points of the two leaders.

But it was not to be as Sinclair capitalized on an error by Spurs keeper Brad Friedl who failed to hold on to a cross by Angel Rangel, enabling Sinclair to scramble home the equalizer.

Undefeated Jose “Sniper” Pedraza (6-0, 5KO’s) scored a 5th round TKO over Ghana’s Herbert Quartey (7-7, 5 KO’s) to win the WBC World Youth super featherweight title at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California as reported by Ricardo Rodriguez-Rivera, Director of Communicatioins of Universal Promotions, Team Puerto Rico and Gary Shaw Productions..

However, Fight News reported the fight was scheduled for eight rounds and made no mention of the Youth title being on the line.

The taller Pedraza (6-0, 5 KOs) was able to work behind a stiff jab an was able to land lead right hands to the head. Quartey (7-7, 4 KOs) had some success landing counter right crosses to the head as he was able to get inside.

Hopwever, in the fifth round, Pedraza stunned Quartey with a left hook to the head and dropped him with a right uppercut. Quartey was able to beat the count but was clearly disoriented, prompting referee Tom Taylor to realize that Quartey was in no position to continue and called a  halt  to the bout at 1:20 of the round..

Pedraza, in a post fight interview said “I feel good, I worked the fight intelligently and behind my jab. I understand that tonight was a first step in attaining all my goals in boxing. I fought a very intelligent fight in the ring and therefore I was able to dominate the fight. I am now returning to Puerto Rico as a WBC Youth World Champion and it fills me with a lot of joy. This is my Christmas gift to you Puerto Rico, to all my fans, Feliz Navidad. ”

Pedraza said  “I want to thank Jose Sulaiman and the members of the youth committee for allowing me to fight for their very prestigious Youth Title. I will represent the WBC as a true champion.”

Rodriguez reported that ”Sniper” Pedraza returns to action in the card Pa ‘Bravo Yo, to be held on January 28 in his hometown of Cidra, Puerto Rico.

Pedraza is one of the most decorated amateur boxers in the history of Puerto Rico. During the last Olympic cycle he campaigned at 132 pounds and captured the bronze medal at the Pan American Games in Brazil in 2007, won a silver medal in the boxing championship in Milan 2009 and a gold medal in the 2010 Central American Games in Mayagüez.

Pedraza is part of the boxing team, Team Puerto Rico. This group was developed by promoters Gary Shaw Productions, DiBella Entertainment and Universal Promotions in order to develop the finest group of Puerto Rican fighters available.

The “Sniper” is represented by Gary Shaw Productions, DiBella Entertainment and Universal Promotions.

The fight card was presented by Showtime boxing series on ShoBox “ The New Generation.”

PHOTO CREDIT / Carlos Baeza / UNIVERSAL PROMOTIONS

Inspired by the incredible achievements of Ring Magazine pound for pound king  Manny Pacquiao through the years, boxing has once again been the savior of Philippine sports in the international competitive arena.

Four world champions is by any means a  minor achievement and even though his own performances this past year haven’t been as dominating as we would have liked, one cannot deny the fact that Pacquiao has proved to be the one daring inspiration to all our boxers.

If we are to venture to select the Philippines “Fighter of the Year” it would seem to be an extremely difficult task because two fighters by their performances in the ring and their demeanor outside have proven to be worthy of the honor.

WBC/WBO bantamweight champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire and WBO flyweight champion Brian Viloria put on magnificent displays in the ring, overcoming perceived odds to prove not only their skill and ring savvy but their courageous Filipino hearts. It is therefore probably fitting that we don’t attempt to separate the two but rather recognize them as  joint “Fighters of the Year.”

When Donaire moved up in weight to face veteran Mexican Fernando “Cochulito” Montiel who , like Donaire, was ranked in the Ring Magazine pound for pound top ten, most fight fans felt Montiel had the edge although there were many of us who believed that Nonito was in a class by himself and would prove to be a worthy heir-apparent to Pacquiao. This he did in unmistakable fashion.

Donaire dropped Montiel with a patented left hook counter that sent him crashing onto the canvas in  a quivering heap and only the incompetence of referee Russel Mora allowed Montiel to continue to suffer for a few seconds longer before he stepped in and called a halt to the onslaught of Donaire.

It was another spectacular repeat of the same, perfectly- timed counterpunch that on July 7, 2007 sent the cocky Australian world flyweight champion Vic Darchinyan on the seat of his pants and staggering across the ring before crashing into the ropes in a heap like some New Year’s eve drunk who had one too many to drink.

That singular performance made the boxing world sit up and take notice and recognition came quickly,  as the fight was declared the “Upset of the Year” and the stoppage of Darchinyan the “Knockout of the Year.”

Four years later, Donaire’s demolition of Montiel was also chosen as the “Knockout of the Year’ and one which catapulted him into the No. 4 ranking in Ring’s pound for pound list behind Pacquiao, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr and middleweight champion Sergio Martinez of Argentina.

 While Donaire’s title defense against former undefeated two  -division world champion Omar Andres Narvaez wasn’t as imposing as his destruction of Montiel, it proved Donaire’s unquestioned superiority as Narvaez was in survival mode throughout the twelve rounds at the jam-packed theater in  New York’s famed Madison Square Garden, enabling Donaire to win by a twelve round shutout.

Most fight fans and even the grizzled veterans in media had Brian Viloria a decided underdog against hard-hitting former light flyweight champion Giovanni Segura of Mexico in Viloria’s first WBO title defense at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on December 10.

But Viloria who had won the title via a unanimous twelve round decision from equally dangerous Julio Cesar “Pingo” Miranda of Mexico in July after stunning the champion with a first round flash knockdown, proved that what he termed his “hidden punching power” was for real as he battered Segura into a hopeless situation prompting referee Samuel Viruet to stop the beating in the 8^th round.

Viloria’s victory was as efficient as it was spectacular, turning the tide after the opening round with a masterful display of skill, working behind an accurate left jab, excellent movement and a new high in ring smarts.

Segura, it must be remembered, is the first fighter to ruin the undefeated record of Puerto Rico’s Ivan Calderon by scoring back-to-back knockouts to win the WBO light flyweight crown – the first by an 8th round TKO and the rematch by a 3^rd round knockout.

Viloria is eyeing a unification bout against WBC champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand or Hernan “Tyson” Marquez of Mexico with a possibility, according to Viloria’s manager Gary Gittelsohn, of the exciting light flyweight champion Roman Gonzales moving up to take on Viloria sometime in March.

Donaire too, having hurdled one weight division after another in a path that he himself conceded aimed to follow in the footsteps of Pacquiao, moves up to the super bantamweight division to battle talented Puerto Rican Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in a clash for the vacant WBO 122 pound title which Vazquez had earlier won with a 4^th round knockout of a less than marvelous, former WBO super flyweight champion Marvin Sonsona.

The Donaire-Vazquez fight on February 4 at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas which was the site of Pacquiao’s memorable 11^th round TKO of Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera in November 2003, will hopefully take Nonito one step closer to the five or six world titles he aims to win.

One of the nicest young men in boxing and a terribly underrated fighter Donnie Nietes, from the famed ALA gym of renowned boxing patron Tony Aldeguer became a two-division world champion when he too moved up from minimum weight to light flyweight to challenge Mexico’s Raul Garcia Hirales,  twin brother of Raul Garcia, the WBO minimum weight champion at that time.

The title fight took place on October 8, 2011 at the St. La Salle Gym in Bacolod City and Nietes out-boxed Garcia to win his second world title with a 12 round unanimous decision.

Nietes had won  WBO minimum weight title with a 12^th round unanimous decision over Thailand’s Pornsawan Porpramook on September 30, 2007. But far more striking was the fact that he had four successful title defenses, three of which were in the hometowns of his Mexican opponents all of whom he beat handily.

Then of course there is Manny Pacquiao. Long being used to utterly dominating ring exhibitions as in his fights against Oscar De La Hoya whom he pulverized into quitting in the eighth round, Ricky “The Hitman” Hatton whom he destroyed in two, Miguel Cotto whom  he stopped in the final round of a near classic performance and Antonio Margarito whom he cut to shreds in a twelve round masterclass, we were collectively disappointed that the trend didn’t continue.

He dropped veteran Shane Mosley in the third round and had to chase the former world champion who kept running for the rest of the fight, forcing Pacquiao to settle for a shutout on the scorecards of two judges and a third judge who somehow saw Mosley winning one round for a 119-108 scorecard.

The one that still lingers is Pacquiao’s controversial majority decision over Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez in the third fight of what must surely rank as one of the most gripping trilogies of the modern era at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on November 12, 2011.

All three encounters were full of action and perhaps even fuller with controversy with the last fight being the most divisive both among fans and the media. But as we pay tribute to our fighters it is not the time or the place to dig up controversies but rather to extol achievements.

For all the disappointments of the year, in retrospect Pacquiao has probably become his worst enemy by setting such lofty standards that anything below that invites criticism.

As the late Chairman Mao Tse Tung once told President Marcos during a one-on-one meeting in Beijing in 1976, “the tallest tree in the forest catches all the wind.”

That just about sums up Pacquiao’s lofty standing but the bottom line must surely be his incredible achievement of winning eight world titles in eight separate weight divisions. That in itself is a record that nobody can deny the “Fighter of the Decade.”

2011 was a good year for Philippine boxing and with several young contenders on the fringes of world title shots, 2012 could be a banner year.

Happy New Year to all our champions and indeed all our fighters, promoters and managers and may you be blessed with the success you richly deserve in the twelve months ahead of us.

God bless you all.

After serving the country with distinction in the Davis Cup competition. Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games, the Philippines former No. 1 ranked player Cecil Mamiit will now serve as non-playing captain of the Davis Cup team.

Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva of the Philippine Tennis Association told the Manila Standard that he had spoken to Mamiit about the PHILTA decision and indicated “I think he (Mamiit) still wants to play.”

However, Villanueva pointed out that “we are trying to look at a new direction” because while the other members named to the Davis Cup squad “are playing regularly in official tournaments, Cecil has quit the tour.”

Named to the Philippine Team for the Asia-Oceania Group Division II cup tie are doubles specialist Treat Huey, veteran Johnny Arcilla, Ruben Gonzales and youngster Jeson Patrombon.

The tie against Pacific Oceania will take place at the University of Saint. Anthony indoor hardcourt in Iriga City, Camarines Sur from February 10-12 under lights.

The opening day singles will start at 3:00 p.m. the second day’s doubles at 7:00 p.m. and the reverse singles on Day 3 at 3:00 p.m.

Villanueva said Huey, who saw action with India’s Somdev Devvarman in the Wimbledon doubles competition and won 12 Challenger doubles titles last year will be the anchor of the Philippine team both in singles and doubles while no decision has yet been made on who will play the second singles and partner Huey in the doubles. Huey reached a career high doubles ranking of 58 on September 19 this year.

He said this will be up to non-playing captain Mamiit.

The 26 year old Gonzales who in his college days at Indiana University  in the US was known as “the spirit of Illinois tennis because of the way he competes with a ferocious tenacity every match” is the next highest ranked doubles player to Huey having won a Futures tournament and is currently ranked No. 825while Arcilla is “also a possibility” according to Villanueva  having won the Masters tournament beating Albert Anasta in a grueling five-set final and also bagging the Philippine Columbian Open title.

But he stressed, the decision will be left to Mamiit.

Villanueva made it clear that the  Pacific Oceania team which avoided relegation two years in a row after beating Iran 4-1 in the 2011 relegation tie “is no pushover although their rankings are not that high.”

The team is made up of Cyril Jacobe and Deniel Llarenas who partnered to win the doubles against Iran,, West Nott who won both his singles matches, Michael Leong who won one singles and Leon So’On Alole.

Thailand’s Sod Looknongyangtoy (Kokietgym) has won the WBC Asian Boxing Council super bantamweight title with a 6^th round knockout of Zhandos Zhetpisbayev of Kazakhstan in Cheng Mail.

Sod, the interim champion proved too strong for the overmatched 25 year old Kazakh fighter whom according to boxrec.com had a record of 2 wins 1 loss and no knockouts when he entered the ring against the Thai southpaw who had an impressive record of 55-2-1 with 23 knockouts.

But the title fight wasn’t the only mismatch on the card.

In a bantamweight bout Petch Sor Jongcharoen (Kokietgym) improved his record to 10-1 with 4 knockouts following a 1^st round knockout of Nimithra Sithsaithong who was apparently making his pro debut.

Petch had previously won the vacant WBO Asia Pacific super flyweight title with a twelve round split decision over tough Jason Egera of the Philippines on July 31, 2009 and was making a comeback after a fairly long absence from the ring.

29 year old light flyweight Nethra Sasiprapa improved his record to 28-2 with 13 knockouts following a points decision over the Philippines 28 year old Samuel Apuya who dropped to 7-7 with 4 knockouts.

Veteran minimum weight Pigmy (Kokietgym) the WBC Interim champion scored a 4^th round TKO over Filipino Jayson Rootoni,

The 30 year old Pigmny improved to 46-6-2 with 21 knockouts while the 24 year old Rotoni suffered his fourth straight defeat to drop to 12-11-1 with 7 knockouts.

Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire who moves up in weight to battle former world champion Wilfredo Vazquez Jr for the WBO super bantamweight title at the Alamadome in San Antonio, Texas on February 4 is on his way back to the US after workouts in Manila and Tokyo.

Donaire’s wife, Rachael, told the Manila Standard that Donaire had sparred at the Wild Card Gym of Rommel Nazario in Sucat, Paranaque for three days before flying to Tokyo where he sparred twice at the famous Teiken Gym of well-known Japanese businessman-promoter Akihiko Honda.

Ms. Donaire said her husband was quickly getting into shape and weighed 127 pounds while in Tokyo which is just five pounds above the super bantamweight limit. Besides training while in Manila, Donaire also shot a television commercial.

Rachael said he also had dinner with Filipino star Allan Pineda who is known as Apl.de.Ap of the extremely popular pop group Black Eyed Peas.

Ms. Donaire told us they “ had just received the fight contract from Todd duBeof” the Top Rank president confirming the February 4 date..

Well known TV boxing analyst Moy Lainez said Donaire sparred “as early as 7:30 a.m. against Vergel Poton who is a featherweight” at the Wild Card Gym  and predicted “the fight against Vasquez will be a good one.”

Vazquez is the same fighter who scored a 4^th round knockout of “Marvelous” Marvin Sonsona to win the 122 pound crown  on February 27, 2010 in Puerto Rico.

Dennis ‘D Source’  Guillermo reported that Donaire was with former WBA world light welterweight champion Morris East who won the title with an 11^th round TKO over Japan’s Akinobu Hiranaka on September 9, 1992.

East works the punch-mitts with the WBC/WBO bantamweight champion who relinquished his title to move up in weight and challenge for the super bantam crown after winning the WBC/WBO 118 pound title with a spectacular 2^nd round knockout of Mexican champion Fernando “Cochulito”Montiel which earned Donaire the accolade of “Knockout of the Year.”.

Guillermo said Donaire who arrived in Tokyo on December 20 sparred four rounds with  Yasutaka Ishimoto (19-5, 3 KO’s) who we were informed by Koji Ishizuka of the  Japan Boxing Commission is ranked No. 1 super bantamweight in Japan. After the sparring session Donaire worked on the punch-mitts and heavy bag.

The following day Guillermo reported that Donaire did about 90 minutes on the punch-mitts and the heavy bag after reporting very early in the morning like he did in Manila. On his third day of training at the Teiken Gym, Donaire went five rounds with Ishimoto.

Panamanian boxing writer and fight fan Carlos Costa said Donaire met Celestino Caballero who trains at the same gym in preparation for his WBA featherweight title defense against Satoshi Hosono on December 31.

Donaire also met Mexican legend Marco Antonio Barrera, WBC super bantamweight champion Takahiro Aoh who at one time was Barrera’s sparring partner when the Mexican was preparing for his fight against Ring Magazine pound for pound king Manny Pacquiao and WBA super bantamweight champion Akifumi Shimoda.

(Photos courtesy of Masatoshi Ueda and Boxing Mobile Japan).

Sugar Ray Leonard’s epic battle with two division champion Wilfredo Benitez for the WBC welterweight title as well as Roy Jones Jr’s showdown with Richard Hall with Jones’ WBC/WBA/IBF light heavyweight belts on the line will headline AKTV’s “Super Fights” on IBC 13 on December 27 at 9:00 p.m.

The battle between Leonard and Benitez  of Puerto Rico took place on November 30, 1979 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

Benitez who was undefeated with a record of 38-0 received $1.2 million while Leonard’s purse was $1 million.

It was a highly competitive and tactical battle. In the first round, Leonard rocked Benitez with a left hook that came off a jab and right cross. Late in the third, Leonard dropped Benitez on the seat of his pants with a stiff left jab.

In the sixth, there was an accidental clash of heads, which opened a cut on the forehead of Benitez. Blood flowed down his forehead and the bridge of his nose but stayed out of his eyes.

Leonard landed the harder punches and had Benitez hurt several times late in the fight, but Leonard couldn’t put him away. Benitez was very slick. .

Going into the final round, Leonard led by scores of 137–130, 137–133, and 136–134. The two went toe-to-toe in the fifteenth. Late in the round, Leonard dropped Benitez with a left. He got up, but after a few more punches, referee Carlos “Sonny” Padilla of the Philippines  stopped the fight. The time was 2:54 of round fifteen. Leonard was leading on the scorecards of all three judges when the fight was stopped.

The Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine named Leonard “Fighter of the Year” for 1979. He won five titles in five weight divisions.

Sugar Ray Leonard was named after his mother’s favorite singer Ray Charles.

The  Roy Jones Jr vs Richard Hall title fight was held on May 13, 2000 at Conseco Field House in Indiana.

Jones who was leading by a shutout on the scorecards of all three judges after ten rounds won by an 11^th round TKO. Referee was Wayne Kelly.

Hall, nicknamed “The Destroyer” was a southpaw from Kingston, Jamaica and was the WBA Interim light heavcyweight champion.

He was down twice in round one.

Jones won titles in middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.

He was also Ring Magazine’s pound for pound king.

Also featured on the increasingly popular show will be the IBF bantamweight championship between Orlando Canizales and  Billy Hardy on May 4, 1991 .

Canizales from Laredo, Texas won by an 8^th round TKO after dropping Britain’s Hardy in the 3rd round. The referee was Robert Gonzalez. The fight was held in Canizales’ hometown of Laredo.

Canizales successfully defended his title against two Filipinos.

He scored a unanimous twelve round decision over Samuel Duran on September 18, 1992 in Montana and a 5^th round TKO over Rolando Bohol in Texas on June 7, 1994.